FLORENCE, Ala. – Three undergraduate students at the University of North Alabama have been selected as winners of a design competition for the 2012 W.C. Handy Music Festival. Their original logo will serve as the primary visual image for the festival and be displayed on posters, brochures, billboards and pamphlets to advertise the event.

The winning students are Savannah Trammell, of Russellville; Taylor Noblit, of Tuscumbia; and Kristen Dunn, of Muscle Shoals. Trammell is a freshman elementary education major and a UNA Lionette with the Pride of Dixie marching band. Noblit is a freshman majoring in health, physical education and recreation with a concentration in exercise science. Dunn is a freshman vocal performance major. All three of the winners are enrolled in the UNA Honors Program.

The logo design was created through a class assignment for an honors computing course taught by UNA Assistant Professor of Computing Information Systems Ron Davis. Selwyn Jones, president of the Music Preservation Society, said there were numerous creative design entries this year."We're fortunate to have such talented artists in the area, and we're happy to showcase their talent in our 2012 W.C. Handy Music Festival brochures, T-shirts and all the memorabilia associated with the festival,” he said. “We are pleased that UNA students have felt a connection with the Handy festival, which inspired them to create the winning design, and we congratulate them. The creativity and high quality of all the artwork submitted for the design competition can be seen in an exhibition during this year's festival.”Dr. Vince Brewton, director of the UNA Honors Program, is proud of the winning students and their contribution to the W.C. Handy Music Festival."It is gratifying to us that for the third year in a row, UNA Honors Program students have worked on the winning entry in the Handy design contest,” Brewton said. “This speaks volumes about the exceptional young people we have coming into the program. I am really proud of Savannah, Taylor and Kristen. They are great representatives of UNA and the Honors Program. Thanks to Ron Davis for his fine work with the CIS honors class and to the Music Preservation Society for their tremendous dedication to the community. The Handy Festival is a truly outstanding event."The W.C. Handy Music Festival is an annual event sponsored by the Music Preservation Society. This year will mark the 31st year of the festival and it will be held from July 20 to July 29 in Florence.

PHOTO AVAILABLE: For a photo of the 2012 W.C Handy design logo, contact the Office of University Communications and Marketing at 256-765-4225 or cbrusseauhollander@una.edu.